Published: June 20, 2007 11:17 pm         

Valley residents point to prevention as key to health care reform

TERRE HAUTE — Simplify.

That has been the general consensus among Hoosiers about what needs to be done for health care reform in Indiana, said Eric Wright, Ph.D.

“There’s some disagreement about how to simplify,” he said, “but the vast majority of people feel simplification would both make it easier for the consumer, it also [would] relieve a lot of the burden on the providers.”

Wright, the director of the Indiana University Workgroup on Health Care Reform, moderated a discussion in Terre Haute among about 30 people as part of the Workgroup’s public listening tour Wednesday evening.

Two of the biggest suggestions from Wabash Valley residents were to use a single-payer system and to focus more on preventative measures and wellness.

One person noted that if the federal government can develop plans such as Medicaid and Medicare, then the State of Indiana should be able to do something similar.

Suggestions to fund this plan included eventually eliminating private insurance providers and putting the money people paid to them into a Hoosier Health Care Fund.

Wright said a single-payer plan would reduce costs of the health care.

“A lot of the cost is being driven by the administrative burden in terms of trying to figure out what the rules and regulations of different insurance policies are and then negotiating with insurance companies when they refuse to pay,” he said. “In fact, there’s a lot of wiggle room there … if you want to compare our system to sort of the other universal health care systems, that is a place where they save a whole lot.”

He also noted that a government-sponsored system isn’t the only way to move to a system like this.

“You could in fact have a for-profit insurance company that is the single payer,” Wright said. “There’s a lot of ways you could structure that, or a set of small payers that have a common fund.”

Many at the meeting noted that for preventive and wellness measures, it starts with the people and how they take care of themselves.

Some suggestions included making overweight people pay more for insurance or not reimbursing a smoker for treatment he or she received for a smoking-related illness.

The Workgroup was established for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration through the Consortium for Health Policy, Law, Bioethics and the Life Sciences; the Center for Health Policy within the School of Public and Environmental Affairs; the Hall Center for Law and Health at Indiana University School of Law Indianapolis; and the Indiana University School of Medicine.

The Workgroup is made up of two full-time staff members, two graduate assistants and eight core faculty members. There are also seven subcommittees with many faculty, stakeholders, community members and outside experts involved.

The Workgroup does not represent any one political group; it is an independent, nonpartisan research group trying to find the best solution for health-care challenges the state faces, Wright told the crowd.

Terre Haute’s stop at the Landsbaum Center for Health Education was the eighth of a nine-stop “listening tour.” After the tour, the Workgroup will construct a report with its findings and a followup tour is expected to take place in the fall.

In July, the group is expected to shift roles to serve as a technical and logistical support staff for a State Legislative Commission. During this time, the Workgroup will present its findings.

From January to May 2008, the Workgroup will provide support to the Commission, the governor and the state legislature during a public deliberation of the proposals the Commission endorsed.

For more information, or to submit an opinion to the Workgroup, visit www.healthcarereform.iupui.edu.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.